Electroless gold plating baths are known comprising a solution of complexed gold salts and, as a reducing agent, an alkali metal borohydride or amine borane wherein the amine is a primary or secondary amine, usually dimethylamine borane. Such baths have all used cyanide, generally alkali metal cyanides, as gold complexing agents, either alone or together with other complexing agents. The use of toxic cyanides is undesirable as it poses severe environmental and health hazards. Prior baths have also been deficient in providing both bath stability and practical plating rates. It has been necessary heretofore to heat the plating baths to obtain practical plating rates. Such gold plating baths are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,589,916; 3,700,469 and 3,917,885.